[PRP] Wise Words of 'Children'

[Kimaria]

Yavin, lay in the twilight, the curve of the stream at his side - so close that his breath stirred its surface. He found a sense of great calm here these days. The sound of the water babbling as the shadows darkened and the moon cast its light down between the gap in the trees.

He felt its light, gentle and purifying.

He felt as if it could, somewhat, heal his troubled soul.

It was for the best, perhaps, that he had stayed out of the war as best as he could. He'd never been much of a fighter and certainly held no interest in leadership. And, with that decision still to be made, he felt it better to just keep away, rather than risk getting involved and causing waves where none needed to be made.

The sound of grass under paw was the first sign he had that he was no longer alone. His ear twisted and a moment later, his son's voice reached him.

"Father, what are you doing here?"

The tone was one of strained disappointment.

"Isn't it obvious?" He replied, pulling himself reluctantly up into a sitting position.  

[mouselet]

"No, I'd say it was not at all obvious," a new voice chimed in as Inenekazi joined her brother and father. The lioness had followed Endor to find their father, whom she hadn't seen too much of late. Their mother, well, that made sense. As Shaman, she was under a great deal of stress, being in charge of the pride along with the Regent Liuhe, who had refused his father's throne. The choice of the next monarch fell to Lailah K'chol, who had understandably become something of a hermit in the past couple moons.

"It would make sense if you were with Mother, but you're not. Please don't tell me you're depressed about her being missing so much lately," the young lioness elucidated her thoughts to try and elicit more information.  

[Kimaria]

Endor couldn't help but smile a little. He was glad he had his sister's backing in this. He was, perhaps, easy to ignore. But two of them? That would be a far harder task.

"She has been bestowed an important task. A difficult one, yes, but an honour, too."

"An honour?" Yavin huffed, turning to glance between his children. "That's not what I would call it. And no, I'm not depressed." Perhaps he was, though. Perhaps he just hadn't considered that as an option before. "I just don't want to get drawn into it and neither should the two of you. Politics spells hard work and - in this pride - usually death. The sooner its over with, the sooner we can move on - until the next monarch is killed and we can play this game all over again."

Ok, so perhaps this whole situation had affected him more than he had realised...  

[mouselet]

Inenekazi snorted. "Dad, politics are our lives. You were born a Prince. Mom's the Shaman, one of the most important lions in the entire pride. That crazy murderous King who was killed this summer? That was our cousin. His killers, his sons, are our cousins." The purple lioness shook her head.

"There's no escaping who we are and who we were born to be. Mother's trying - hard - but she's also still trying to do her job to the best of her ability." The more Inenekazi learned about her own position, the Host Apprentice, the more she grew to understand and appreciate how very much Lailah did for the pride.  

[Kimaria]

"A prince, yes, but not the heir." He had loved being a prince. Enjoyed the benefits of a high-class resident. He had spent his days allowing others to work whilst he lazed about and did nothing much of anything. Then Shangyue had changed everything and the position he had been born into was no longer a blessing.

"A title but none of the responsibility."

He scrunched up his nose as if there were a bad taste in his mouth.

Endor shook his head in dismay, "father...that is a terrible thing to say. Where is your drive? Where is your ambition to do all that we can to aid our pride?"

Yavin growled then, folding back his ears.

"She doesn't need my help to do her job. She's been handling it fine for years - just as I don't need her help."  

[mouselet]

Now the purple lioness frowned at her father. This was not at all going the way she wanted it to. He was being so...so stubborn!

"Dad, I have no idea why you aren't with Mom this moment. Just because she's been pushing everyone away doesn't mean you should listen to her! She needs you more than anything else right now, and I think you need her too. You wouldn't be nearly so grumpy otherwise," Inenekazi concluded. She didn't like the way this conversation was going. It sounded like Yavin was considering divorcing Lailah, which would turn lives upside down for more than just herself and her siblings.  

[Kimaria]

Yavin and Lailah had never had the most smooth of relationships. There had certainly been some ups and downs before now. And yet, so far, they had survived it all. Still, it felt like this was perhaps the greatest challenge yet and Yavin wasn't even sure why he'd been staying away.

Perhaps he was afraid of worsening an already tense and stressful situation. After all, he wasn't the best with words or actions at the best of times.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked his daughter, raising a brow. "Because I think it'd be more the other way around."

Endor sighed, exasperated, "do you want to hit him, sis, or should I? Words don't seem to be getting through that thick skull of his."

Yavin growled yet again, getting to his paws and gesturing for his children to leave him. He didn't need a lecture from his cubs!! (He didn't seem to have realised they were fully grown). "It's complicated. You're both too young to understand."  

[mouselet]

"Yes I am," the lioness replied firmly to her father. She was sure that Mother had some sort of rationale, but keeping her own mate away was just stupid. Inenekazi was certain that both her parents could relax if they would just spend some time together.

"I think you should, Endor," the female told her brother wryly. "As a Guard, you've trained for this, and I think your paws might actually be strong enough to make an impression on Dad's skull. I know I can't."

She wouldn't argue with Yavin about her age or her understanding. Since she had no strong relationships beyond her own family, he might have a point there. Inenekazi was just refusing to admit it.  

[Kimaria]

Yavin stood, scowling at his children as if his look alone could turn them away so that he might get some peace. And yet, maybe, they were right. He didn't need to try and give advice on things he didn't understand or had no strong opinion. Perhaps he could just be there...then if she did need him...

But did she really?

He was doubtful.

Endor, gave a soft laugh at his sister, then a nod. "You heard her, father. Shall I knock some sense into you?"

"Guard or not, I'll knock you into the stream if you try."

Endor realised he had only been half joking.

"Will you leave me in peace if I agree?" Yavin grumbled, not wanting to seem as if he had admitted defeat so easily.  

[mouselet]

As entertaining as it would be to see Endor try and knock their father out and vice versa, a physical confrontation was nothing that Inenekazi sought. Though, of course, she couldn't and wouldn't speak for her brother.

"I'll leave you in peace," the Apprentice answered cheerily. "What about you, Endor?" She wasn't entirely certain a blow to the head wasn't still warranted, but at least this was better than Dad lying around sulking.  

[Kimaria]

Endor hesitated, not certain that he believed his father would stay true to his word. He could just be agreeing so that he could get them out of his mane, with no true intention of going to seek out his mate. The last thing Endor wanted was to see his parents split - for all that they argued, he knew they cared for one another.

"We'll go, but if we find out that you didn't keep your word, it'll be you in the stream." And that time he meant it. Yavin was getting this one chance to prove that words were enough. If they weren't...then more extreme methods would have to be applied.

"Come on, sis, let's leave him be." He gave his sister a gentle nudge with the end of his nose and, with a flick of his tail, headed back the way he had come.

Yavin, standing there on the bank, felt his heavy heart grow tight with anxiety. He'd keep his word but he wasn't convinced it would spell out the happy ending his children believed it would.